“Because of Hawaii’s unsatisfactory performance during the first 14 months of the grant, we are placing Hawaii’s race to the top grant on high-risk status.

“The State has not demonstrated adequate progress implementing its approved plans. The Department is concerned about the State’s ability to fulfill its commitments within the grant period.”

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan commented:

“If things don’t change, Hawaii is going to end up in a tough spot.”

Hawaii was the first state to receive a warning like this, but it was soon followed by Rhode Island and Delaware. Education officials say they are making progress, but have acknowledged that they have hit stumbling blocks to following through with what they promised, writes Banchero.

Eleven states and the District of Columbia won the competition and through that were given permission from the U.S. Department of Education to alter their plans, with Delaware, Rhode Island, Georgia, Maryland and Hawaii getting permission to push back by a year efforts to link student test scores to teacher evaluations that, in some cases, were to be used for tenure decisions.

But now the Obama Administration is making it clear that they won’t wait forever for results. And the states are taking note.